Motor-vehicle.



No. 896,624. PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908. W. CHRISTIE. MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED I'BB.12, 1908.

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ATTORN EYb WITNESSES No. 896,624. PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908. W. CHRISTIE.MOTOR VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12, 1908.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

4% WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY.)

No. 896,624. PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908. W. CHRISTIE. MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION II'LED FEB. 12, 1 908.

5 SHEETSSHEET 5.

, INVENTOR BY I? 'fiLATORNEYo WITNESSES! UNITED STATES rAtr NT()FFICE".-

WALTER CHRISTIE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOW. GOULDBROKAW, OF ARCHDALE, NORTH CAROLINA.

MOTOR-VEHICLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 18, 1908.

Application filed February 12, 1908. Serial No. 415,548.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER CHRISTIE, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and

a resident of New York, county and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Motor-Vehicles, of

which the following is a specification, refer-- ence being had to theaccompanying drawings,form1ng a part thereof.

My invention relates to improvements in motor vehicles,- andparticularly to motor vehicles in which both the driving and steer ingis done through the front wheels.

My invention conslsts, first, in a novel arrangement and construction ofparts wherein the entlre driving mechanism lncludmg themotor, thetransmlsslon gearing and the front wheels may be readily disconnectedfrom the main or body portion of the vehicle, 4

Without the parts, included in the said drivin mechanism beingdismantled as'to themselves. In other words, I construct the vehicle, asa whole, in two separate and dis- ,mec ianism portion are fittedtogether an are ada ted to be secured in place by removable bo ts, andthe various llIlkS, levers and pipe connections which necessarily runfrom one member of the vehicle to the other, are also arranged to beconveniently connected and disconnected for the samepurpose.

My invention also consists in certain novel details of construction andcombinations of.

parts tending toward the sim lification of the mechanism and toward renering the various parts accessible and facilitating the dis-.

' mantlin and reassemblage of the different parts when required.

It is the main purpose of my present invention to provide a vehicle forcommercial purposes w ierein thevarious parts may be readily repaired,renewed or replaced in the shortest possible time, so that vehicles willnot be out of commission at any time for any long eriod. Where therepairs, changes, or the li e are but small, they may be made directlyto the vehicle as a whole without dis- 'mantlin'g the same, ordisassociating its members, but where work is involved that will takeany considerable time, it is intended that the entire front portion,including the motor, transmission gearing, and front wheels shall beremoved bodily, and a similar iece of mechanism substituted therefor. 11this way, by keeping one or more spare sets of driving mechanisms in thegarage, repairs may be conducted leisurely where they are extensivewithout thereby causin the disuse of the vehicles in their entirety.Furthermore, it will readily be understood that when the front and rearportions are disassociated, the front portions will be very much moreeasily handled by the1nselves,|owing to the fact that the bulk thereofis in'considerable with respect to the bulk-of the vehicle as a whole.In orderthat my invention may be fully understood, I will now Eroceed todescribe an embodiment thereof, aving reference to the accompanyingdrawings illustrating the same, and will then point but the novelfeatures in claims.

In the drawings: Figurel is a view in side elevation of a motor vehicleembodying my invention, a portion of the outer casing of the drivingmechanism being broken away in order to show parts contained within thecasing. Fig. 2 is a view partially in side elevation and partially invertical section of the front portion of a vehicle, showing the drivingmechanism as removed from the body portion of the vehicle. Fig. 3 is aview in partial rear elevation, and partial central, vertical,transverse section through the drivmg mechanism, the plane of thesection passing through the axial centers of the said front drivingwheels. Fig. 4 1s a top vlew ofthe front part of the vehicle with t 1ecasing or hood for the motor and transmission gearing shown inhorizontal section. Fig. 5

' IS a similar view but with the parts including the driving mechanismdetached from the body portion of the vehicle. Fig. 6 is a detail crosssectional view through a portion of the transmission gearing, the planeof sec tion being substantially upont 1e line 6-6 of Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is adetail view on an enlarged scale of certain parts showing theconstruction which fpermits the motor to be readily removed ro'mengagement with the transmission gearing.

I the front wheels 16.

itself supported by the front whee s 16.

The vehicle, as a whole, comprises two members; the first including aframe Work 10, the carriage body 11 and the rear wheels 12, and thesecond, including. the motor 13,

transmission gearing 14, frame work 15, and

The firstsaid member, I

will hereinafter referto as the main body portion or member of thevehicle, and the second member, I will hereinafter refer to as thedriving mechanism or tractor member of the vehicle. The frame work 10 ofthe body'portion of the vehicle includes two longitudinally disposedchannel lirons ,having forwardly projecting portions 17. These ortionsare fitted to rearwardly projecting ugs 18 which form a part of framework 15 of the tractor member. The lugs 13 are arranged to slide intothe forwardly projecting ends of the channel irons 17, and. the saidchannel iron ends and lugs are provided with corresponding holes for therece tion of bolts by which the parts maybe 0 amped to ether. For thepurpose of giving strengt and rigidity to'ithe structure a lurality ofthe said bolts and nuts, preferably six for'each side of the vehicle,are employed, the-said bolts passing through the flanges in the web ofthe channel irons, and through corresponding portions of the saidlugs.

T e lugs 18 of the tractor member are here shown as cast integrally witha hollow cross casing 19 which constitutes a support for the motor 13and transmission gearin 14, and is The manner of such latter support isas follows:

The casing 19 at opposite ends thereof is provided with upper and lowerhorns 20 and 21, the said up er horns 20 resting upon srings 22 whic inturn are supported by t e bearing members 23. Thesaid bearing membersare provided with upper and lower vertically disposed guiding spindles24-25 upon which sleeves 26-27- carried. by the said horns 20 and 21respectively are fitted to slide. I The bearing members 23 arerotatively mounted upon short shaft sections 28 secured t6 the wheels29, the hub of the wheels 29 being hollowed or dished so as to receive'portionsof the bearing member 23'and thus tobrmg the point ofconnectionbetween the horns 20'- 21 and the said bearing members 23 asclose as ossible to the centre plane of the wheels. l e connectionbetween the saidv horns and the bearing member, is,as"will be readilyunderstood ,a pivotal. one such as will readily permit the wheels toswing for steerl spindles 2425.

mg purposes about pivots represented by the I it said bea members arefurther provided with arms 30 which project rearwardl therefrom,the'said arms of oposite whee s being connectedlhy means of k31 wherebythe said wheels will be caused to move to ether, such movements beingtrensmitted t ereto through the medi-.

which is arranged to be moved laterally by I the usual or any desiredform of steering gear including a hand wheel 34, a supporting stem 35, aspindle 36 and suitable means for converting rotary movements of thespindle 36 into lateral movements of the arm 33. The connection 37between the link 32 and the arm 33 is arranged to be readily coupled anduncoupled whereby the said connection may be uncoupled whenever it isdesired toremove the tractor member from the body portion of thevehicle.

The motor 13, as before stated, is su ported upon the hollow crosscasing 19. n the present instance, the said motor is a four cyllnderinternal combustion engine, detail description thereby being unnecessaryas the sai engine per 86 forms no part'of the present invention.Attention is called, however, to the fact that the said engine or motoris an entirely self-contained integral structure 'which may be removedbodily from the eas- 'receive them. By merely removing these bolts, theengine or motor may be removed bodily and another one' substitutedtherefor,

if desired. I

The transmission aring includes shaft 40 arranged inline the engine, theinner end of the said shaft 40 having a reduced portion which is fittedinto I um of a link 32'which is pivotally connected the crank shaft 41of the hollow end of the said shaft 41 such connection forming a bearingfor the said shaft at this end. The adjacent ends of the'motor shaft 41and the transmission gearing shaft 40 are shown in detail on an enlargedscalein .Fig. 7 of the drawings. By an inspection of this figure, itwill be seen that the artsare' so arranged and constructed that t 'eymaybe assembled or disassembled .by merely placing-them together orpulling them apart,

ence removal of the motor in its entirety will in no way be im eded byreasonof the normal connection t erewith. of the transmission gearingshaft. When the bolts which secure the motor to the casing are removed,it isonly necessary to pull the motor longitudinally away from thetransmission gearing including the shaft 40 in order to free it entirelyfrom the said mechanism. At itsopposite end, the'said shaft 40 isprovided with a ball bearing 42 which is supported in a housing 43,formed'as a part of, or secured to the hollow cross casing 19. At itsinner end, the said shaftj40'carries the expanding member 44 of a clutch45, the other memb er'of which is comprised in the fly wheel of theengine. The said clutch is operated by such neutral position.

means of a sliding collar 47 arranged u on the shaft 40, the said collarbeing en age by one arm of a bell-crank lever 48, t e other arm of whichis connected by a suitable link connection 49 with a pedal 50.

Mounted upon the shaft 40 intermediately between its ends, and withinthe housing 43, are two gear wheels 51 and 52. These gear wheels aresecured together and are rotatively mounted upon the said shaft 42, butthey are splincd to the said shaft 42 whereby they may slide freelythereon'in a longitudinal direction. Such longitudinal movements areimparted to the said gear wheels by means of a sliding member 53 whichis provided with a downwardly projecting arm engaging a cylindricalgroove in a hub of the said gear wheels, the said slidin member 53 beingengaged by one arm of a ell-crank lever 54, the other arm of which isconnected by a suitable link connection 55, with a change speed andreverse lever 56. The gear wheels 5] and 52 are shown in Fig. 3 of thedrawings in a neutral position with respect to two gear wheels 57 and 58with which they are adapted to engage when moved in one direction or theother from When 'moved to the left, as viewed in Fig. 3, the gear wheel51 will be caused to engage the gear wheel 57, and because of therelative size of the two said gear wheels, relatively slow movementswill, be imparted to the intermediate shaft 59 upon which the gearwheels 57 and 58 are mounted. When, on the other hand, the

gear wheels 5152 are moved over to the right, as viewed in Fig. 3, thegear wheel 52 will be caused to intermesh with the gear Wheel 58, andrelatively faster movements.

will be im arted to the said intermediate shaft 59 owlng to the factthat the ear wheel 52 is larger than the gear 51, an the gear wheel 58is'smaller than the gear wheel 57. As before stated, however, the gearwheels 51 and 52 are when in the position shown in F ig. 3 of thedrawings in a neutral 'osi-tion. They are arranged to be in thisposltion when it is desired to disconnect the gear wheels altogether, orwhen it is desired to transmit reverse movements of drive from the shaft40 to the intermediate shaft 59. For this purpose, an idler gear 60 isarranged in proximity to the gear wheels 51 and 57 bein normally out ofmesh therewith. The sai ear wheel is mounted upon a stub shaft 61 w ichis carried by an arm 62 the said arm being supported upon a rock shnected bysuitable links and levers includin a connectin link 64 with thechange spec and reverse ever 56. By a proper manipulaticn of this lever,the shaft 63 may be rocked so as to throw the idler gear into mesh withthe gear wheels 51 and 57 at such time as the gear wheels 51 and 52 arein their neutral position." This willh-ave the efiectof saidintermediate shaft 59.

aft 63 which is conconnecting the gearingin such a way as Itlotransmitslow rearward movements to Mounted upon the shaft 59 and secured fast tothe gear wheels 57 and 58 is a pinion 65 which is arranged in constantmesh with a spur driving gear 66. The spur driving gear is mounted upona casing'67 of any suitable orwell known compensating gearing 68 andthrough which driving movements are 'im-' parted to the driving wheels16. The connection between the compensating gearing and the wheels .isthrou h universal joint connections 6969 where y the casing may bepermitted to have vertical movements such as are permitted thereto bythe springs 24, and the said wheels will be permitted to have steerinmovements such as are ermitted by t e pivotal connection of t eirbearing members with 'the casing, all without interfering in any waywith the drive. Each of the said universal joint connections includes atelescopic.- member 70, a universal joint 71 comprising elements pivotedtogether by two axles at right'angles to each other, a shaft section 72,and a similar universal joint 73 which'connects with the short wheelshaft sections 28.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the entire driving mechanismincluding the motor, the transmission gearing, a frame work therefor,and the front wheels of the vehicle, which are combined drivin 7 wheels,is included in a sing e integral selfcontained structure. The links 49,55 and 64 which connect with the controlling and operating means, may bereadily connected and and steering disconnected at will when the tractormemher, as a whole, is desired to be connected or disconnected with thebody member of the vehicle, the said tractor member, in its entirety,being shown in Figs. 2 and 5 as disconnected, while in Figs. land 4 itis shown as connected. I i

The radiator 75 for cooling the water for the water jacket of the motormay conveniently be contained in the body portion of the vehicle,suitablehose pipe connection 76 be ing provided therefor such as may bereadily connected and disconnected, and it will, of

course, be understood that other pipe connections such as 'may'beconveniently and quickl coupled and uncoupled may be em- 'mounted uponsaid bearing members, a motor supported upon the said cross casing andtransmission gearing including compensating means for connectinglthesaid motor the a said wheels, of a main body portion including a framework and a pair of rear wheels, the

said frame work provided with forwardly projecting channel irons whichare" fitted to the rearwardly projecting in s of the cross casing;andmeans for removaily connecting the said lugs and channel ironstogether.

2. Ina motor vehicle, the combination with a hollowtubular cross casingprovided with'vertical bearing sleeves at opposite ends thereof, bearingmembers having spindles fitted to the said sleeves, and'wheels rotatablymounted upon said bearing members, of a motor, removably supported inits entirety upon the said cross casing, and, transmission gearingincluding comp'ensatin means for connecting the said motor with the saidwheels, the compensating means being contained and inclosed within thesaid hollow cross casing. v

In a motor vehicle, the combination with a hollow tubular-cross casingprovided with horns at its 0 posite ends, the said horns being providewith up er and lower vertical sleeves, bearing mem ers provided withspindles fitted to the said bearing sleeves, springs surrounding thesaid upper i spindles, and extending between the upper I '30 wheelsrotatably mounted upon the said horns andthe bearing members, anddriving f bearing members, of an independent self-contained motorremovably su ported uponthe said casing at the exterior t ereof, andtransmlsslon gearing including a shaft arranged in line with the shaftof the said motor, com en- 'satlng gears dispos'edwithin the said, ho owtubular casing, and universal joint connectlons connectin the saidcompensating gears with the said w eels.

4. In a vmotor vehicle, the combination with a hollow tubular crosscasing provided with vertical bearing sleeves at opposite ends with thesaid'wheels.

transmission gearing main body ortion including a frame work and a air 0rear wheels, the said frame work rovi ed with forwardly projectingchannel lIOIlS and the said cross casin having rearwardly rojecti'nglugs secure thereto; and means -or 'removably' connecting the said lugsand channel irons together.

5. A motor vehicle comprising two independent separable members, oneincluding the body portion of a vehicle, a frame work, a pair of rearwheels, and operating means ineluding a steerin device, levers andpedals, and the other inc uding a frame work adapted'to be removablysecured to the frame work of the body portion, a motor, a pair ofcombined steering and driving wheels, and transmission gearing includinga ehange speed device, reverse gear, a clutch, and meansconnecting withthe wheels for imparting steering movements thereto, the said changespeed device, reverse gear, clutch, and steering means each having anelement adapted to be, removably connected with the operating partscarried by the said body portion of the vehicle.

6. In' a motor vehicle, the combination with a hollow tubular crosscasing provided with horns at its opposite ends, the said horns beingprovided wit sleeves, bearing members provided with spindles fitted tothe said .bearing sleeves, and wheels rotatably mounted upon the saidbearing members, 0 a motor removably sup orted in its entirety upon thesaid cross casmg, a gearing shaft arranged in line with the shaft of thesaid motor, a clutch between the two said shafts, sliding gears mountedupon the said gearing shaft, an intermediate shaft, gears thereonadapted to be engaged by the said sliding gears, compensating earingd1s-.

posed within theflsaid hollow tu ular'cross casing, a gear connectionbetween the said upper and lower vertical compensating gearing and thesaid interme diate shaft, and universal joint connections connecting thesaid oompensatmg gearmg WALTER CHRISTIE.

I Witnesses: v

; W. G. BROKAW,

D..I;I0WARD HAYWOOD.

